


Akechi And Komaeda's Metaverse Adventures

by Yurlungur



Series: Lucky Shot [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Persona 5, Persona Series, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Akechi's Thoughts Are Filled With Profanity, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Crow Can Have One Friend As A Treat, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Every Time I See The Funny Number Next To The Kudos I Cry A Bit, Gen, Humor, If You Want To Make Me Cry Immediately Leave A Comment, Like A Lot Of Profanity, Mentions Of Bagels, POV Akechi Goro, POV Changes, POV Komaeda Nagito, Persona 5 Spoilers, Real Hopeposting Hours, Self-Loathing, Some Persona Characters Are Ultimates, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, Tags May Change, Uncensored Usage Of Hees And Hos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:28:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27875349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yurlungur/pseuds/Yurlungur
Summary: The same game as usual, with a few added cards to make it interesting. Will our two protagonists be able to get out of all this alive? Will Kirigiri be able to figure out the link between cognitive psience and the Izuru Kamakura Project? Is this all according to Yaldabaoth's plan? Gorb? Find out eventually if you're lucky. Don't count on it.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Komaeda Nagito
Series: Lucky Shot [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085462
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	1. Puella Magi Arcana Persona

Being Goro Akechi is suffering. Anyone could tell you that: His boss at the police station who pushes all their work onto him because they know he can’t complain, his father and employer for some slightly less-than-legal activities, and the asshole behind the counter at his favourite place to get pancakes who always looks at him really judgingly. _Prick._ However, of all the people in Goro’s life, none of them knew the suffering he lived with quite as well as Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student at Hope’s Peak Academy (or one of them, Goro’s never really paid much attention to that place), a massive annoyance for the Detective Prince, and also the sole person in his life he could even consider calling an ally.

Given that said Detective Prince’s bike is still in for repairs since the last time Komaeda’s miraculous luck powers completely destroyed it, Goro has to walk everywhere. It fucking sucks. He doesn’t know how everyone else does it. It was Komaeda’s luck completely destroying his bike that got the two introduced to each other in the first place, and the white-haired boy always paid for the repairs, at least. The smirk that unconsciously crossed his face thinking about it is quickly smothered and replaced with a blank expression. Can’t let the public know that he feels happiness; otherwise they’d think he’s childish. _Fucking ignorant masses._ The day where he reaches the bottom of Mementos and gives the entire population of Japan a mental shutdown can’t come soon enough.

What was he doing? Ah, right. Walking. That’s alright, he can do that. He’s been doing that for years. _Goddamn walking professional._ He’s going to the police station. Pretty sure he is, at least. As he approaches the dreaded building in question, Goro’s eyes catch on a girl leaving the building, around his age and dressed in dark purple clothes with lavender hair. Odd, he didn’t think it was Take Your Child To Work Day. Although, given his own position, he probably shouldn’t judge.

* * *

Being Nagito Komaeda is suffering. Anyone could tell you that: His brilliant homeroom teacher and former Ultimate Housekeeper Chisa Yukizome, his wonderful and hope-filled classmates, and that one spiky-haired Reserve Course kid who caught his bagel mid-air after he tripped on nothing and nearly dropped it on the floor. However, of all the cherished people in Nagito’s life, there is one that he can truly relate with, only one that always seems to show off a new, brilliant facet of themselves whenever they talk. That person is Goro Akechi, second coming of the Detective Prince, and beloved symbol of hope.

The luckster stares out the window through the wall of soda cans he has created, sure that at any moment, one of his classmates can and will fall over and send his whole creation tumbling to the floor. There’s some sort of friendly competition going on in the opposite corner of the room, but Nagito can’t be bothered to join in. _Surely the presence of trash like himself would only be met with disgust._ Instead, he chooses to focus on the scenery outside and think to himself.

He’d bumped into someone in the halls earlier today - not an uncommon occurrence for him, but the person he bumped into was quite interesting. The boy introduced himself as the Ultimate Artist, Yusuke Kitagawa. They were quite an interesting character, seemingly unbothered by the world around him, only realising his path had been interrupted once Nagito was apologising. There was also someone following after the apparent artist, who he’d gathered was named Togo. Her talent hadn’t been brought up, but if Nagito were to guess, he’d say some form of strategy game master. Her cold, calculated stare practically cut straight through him.

Once again, as his thoughts wander, Nagito catches himself thinking about that weird eye app. He has to bring it up eventually. Soon, he resolves. Might as well send Goro a text next chance he gets, so they can clear up their schedule if need be. The brunette is really busy.

* * *

Goro hears a ping from his phone that notifies him that he’s gotten a text. Either it’s Shido requesting another meeting soon, or it’s Komaeda requesting another chance to hang out. Either way, answering said message is a welcome opportunity to escape his god-awful work. All the cases are so much harder when you don’t know exactly who did it from the beginning. After pardoning himself from his station and not even waiting for a response, he makes his way to the lunch room. Maybe he’ll get a quick bite to eat. He’s been neglecting his basic human need to consume food on a regular basis for a while.

As luck would have it _(ha ha)_ , it’s Komaeda, inviting the brunette to a nearby restaurant this afternoon with the promise of ‘delicious pancakes.’ After texting back a quick confirmation that he’d go along and a request that Komaeda stop trying to bribe them with pancakes, he closes the messenger app... and pauses. A worrying thought occurs: Komaeda’s personality and thought pattern are, quite frankly, highly abnormal. Could it not be said that their cognition of reality is distorted? Following a quick glance around the room to make sure nobody is near, he pulls up the Metaverse Navigator and types in the white-haired boy’s name.

It’s a hit.

Although his hunch is proven correct, granting him a little personal victory, Goro is completely lost in regards to what to do with this information. What’s he going to do, give his only ~~friend~~ ally a mental shutdown? _Fucking idiot._ Plus, he’s only got the name, not the location or distortion. Probably should have paid more attention during their speeches on hope and despair. Regardless, it’s something to think about at a later date. He has to get back to work. His actual detective work, that is, not assassinating people in the Metaverse. He’d give anything to be doing that right now instead of filing paperwork for his god-awful boss. At least Niijima has been leaving him alone today.

Maybe the rest of the day will pass quickly. Maybe after eating out with Komaeda, Goro can just go home to his apartment and sleep. Not that he usually sleeps well, if at all, but he can only hope the night goes by quickly.


	2. Obligatory Pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you thought I'd forgotten about this and would never update it again, huh? Joke's on you, I've been thinking about this constantly but have been too depressed to actually type anything out. Happy New Years, you clowns.

The pancakes were, by Nagito’s standards, pretty delicious, though he’s unsure if Akechi feels the same. The detective has been staring almost blankly across the table for most of the time they’ve been eating, mostly only speaking to order food for the both of them. As they finish up their meal, Akechi’s expression seems to resolve into a crude facsimile of their detective prince persona, clearly trying desperately to cover up what Komaeda guesses is annoyance.

“I assume you didn’t invite me out just to eat with me, did you?” The thinly-veiled accusation carries a slight hint of aggression, though Nagito doesn’t particularly know why. Have they finally grown tired of the presence of someone as worthless and annoying as himself? Only time will tell.

“...Not quite. It’s about some kind of application I’ve seen on your phone. The one that looks like an eye.” Akechi’s posture immediately stiffens, but they return to normal quickly, as if nothing had happened. “...And what about this app? I don’t see the problem here.” The prince’s voice carries a manufactured edge and a calculated chuckle. Few things are quite as unnerving.

Nagito responds curtly, “I found the same app on my phone recently. It wouldn't disappear, even after I deleted it.” If Akechi’s response hadn’t been noticeable before, it certainly was now. The white-haired boy could have sworn he heard a quiet _‘shit’_ muttered under their breath.

“Your reactions say a lot, Akechi. I’d like some answers.”

“...This isn’t the place to talk about such things. Come with me.”

“...Alright.”

After paying for their food, the Akechi departs, and Nagito follows. Something is wrong here, and he intends to find out what it is.

* * *

Goro and his companion eventually end up in an empty alleyway near the Kichijoji plaza, close to the door to the Velvet Room that Igor had somehow magically created. Best not to question it. It certainly isn’t the weirdest thing the Metaverse has created. For some reason, Komaeda didn’t particularly mind being dragged into a dark alleyway for a barely explained reason, but it’s not particularly surprising. A tense silence spreads out between the two, but eventually Goro breaks it.

“...Alright, Komaeda. I’ll try to explain... as much as I can.”

And so, Goro went into a brief analysis on the nature of the Metaverse, as well as he understood it himself. A description of the navigator, shadows, personas, palaces, and cognitions. Of course, he omitted anything related directly to mental shutdowns, his plans for revenge, and Shido in general. For the most part, Komaeda merely nodded along and asked the occasional question for clarification. A few questions even caught Goro off guard, such as why a world like that even exists. He’s never had much time to spend on philosophical questions, in between his numerous obligations as student/detective/celebrity/assassin.

“...So, anyone sufficiently ‘distorted’ can have one of these palaces?”

“Yes, as long as you have a name, a location, and what that person believes the location is. For example, someone might be particularly fixated on their place of work, like the Diet Building, or a school, like Hope’s Peak Academy.”

“And for example, if someone felt like that place made them feel untouchable, or even isolated, it could become ‘distorted’ into something like... an island?”

“Basica-”

**“Beginning navigation.”**

Goro’s voice is shaking. “...What?” _No. No. This can’t be fucking happening. Of course it’s happening. Of course. Nagito motherfucking Komaeda. Of course._ No sooner does Goro feel the waves of the Metaverse washing over him does he feel the waves of an ocean splashing against his body, and just like that, he’s unconscious.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It takes some time for Goro to reawaken. When he does, he’s on a vibrant, beautiful beach, in front of what appears to be a dilapidated school he recognises as Hope’s Peak Academy. He looks to his arms as he picks himself up, and notes that he’s still in his uniform. _Not a threat, apparently_. Not yet. Closer to the school, Goro sees Komaeda speaking with what is, evidently, his own shadow, taking up the same pose as he did when they were talking earlier about the metaverse. Their shadow seems a bit younger, with hair coloured an almost vibrant reddish-brown, and a jacket completely undamaged and intact. The only things indicating this one is any less real than the original is the yellow eyes and strangely faint swirling of darkness around their feet. As the bastard prince pries himself off the sand, the two _(ish)_ turn to face him, both offering a warm smile and a gesture to join them closer to the school.

Goro obliges them while shaking the sand out of his clothes and noticing... there isn’t any. He’s not even wet from when he fell into the water earlier. His phone is undamaged. _Convenient._

The shadow starts talking first. “Why, hello there, Goro. I had suspected you would turn up here eventually.” He cringes slightly at the use of his first name. “You expected this?” he responds. “Of course. For someone who deals with criminals so often, you’re bad at covering up how suspicious you are.” The original Komaeda turns his head away shyly as the shadow talks. Okay, this one is starting to get on his nerves as much as the real one.

The annoyance on Goro’s face must have been obvious, because the shadow quickly follows up. “Oh, sorry! I’m not very good at… conversation. I didn’t mean to offend you! You’re basically my only friend, after all.”

Both Goro and the real Komaeda turn away at that comment, neither wanting to speak more of it. The shadow presses their index fingers together. Eventually, Goro speaks again. “...So, remind me why we’re still here.” The shadow’s eyes light up a bit as they look up. “Oh! Right. I was hoping you could help me deal with something while you’re here.”

“And what would that be?”

The real Komaeda speaks up for the first time since Goro got up off the beach. “We were talking about this earlier, it’s... um...” They point somewhere over Goro’s shoulder. “It’s... that.”

As the brunette turns around to see what is being pointed at, the skies above him shifts from clear to stormy almost instantly. Before him manifests a nightmarish cloud of near-pitch black smoke, seemingly growing innumerable twitching pink eyes and elongated arms. Goro’s metaverse outfit melds onto him like a second skin, helmet and all, and he barely has time to react before the eldritch thing swipes.

He dodges, but receives a painful slash across his right arm. He manifests Loki behind him and unleashes a blast of Curse magic in the form of Eiga, but it merely melts into the smoke monster’s form. _Couldn’t hurt to try._ It slashes once more, slashing deeper than before into Goro’s chest. Robin Hood is called forth _(somewhat reluctantly)_ and a blinding Kouga is cast, which clears up the dark cloud to reveal what appears to be skin beneath. The smoke reforms faster than Goro can strike again, and a third attack hits one of his legs, making him start to slow. “Komaeda! This is your palace! Do something!”

* * *

Komaeda collapses to the ground. What can he do? He barely understands what’s going on, and his only worthwhile trait is just as likely to harm as help. Akechi has actual power in this place, and he’s still barely surviving. Him and the closest thing to a friend he has are going to die in a nightmare world of his own creation. This feeling of utter _hopelessness_ is one he’s extremely familiar with: **_Desp-_**

“So that’s it then, huh? You’re just going to sit there and watch as he dies trying to help you?” Shadow Komaeda speaks up, the vivacity on his face changing to a cold scowl angled towards their real self. “You really are worthless. Less than garbage.”

“I... I can't do anything to help. There's nothing I can do!” Tears begin to well up in the corners of his eyes.

“We both know that’s not true. Get up and do something, Nagito. Don’t let him die for nothing!”

“...”

“GET UP!”

And so, after a moment that seems to last forever, Nagito stands up, fighting the pain that spreads through his head like a bullet passing through his skull. He points an accusatory finger towards the monster and shouts, “Hey! Don’t think I’m going to just let you hurt him!”

For the first time since it appeared, the shadowed thing speaks, in a monotone voice- or more accurately, monotone voices, as if all of humanity was speaking in unison. “...Fool. Though this is your palace, you hold no power here. I am unkillable. Both of you are utterly hopeless against me.” At that moment, a maniacal yet glorious grin crosses Nagito’s face.

**“No, that’s wrong!”**

Shadow Komaeda manifests behind its original self, with it bringing an aura of fierce light intertwined with menacing shadows. Then, in a glorious flash, it changes. What once was Komaeda’s Shadow is now his Persona, a towering form clothed in bloodied robes that go from its waist to its feet, exposing its upper body. The visible body is entirely skeletal, draped in a thin layer of torn flesh. In its chest cavity beats its heart, suspended by a series of veins wrapped around various bones. Upon its head is an angular helmet reminiscent of a skull, but looking like it acts more as a cage than protection.

  
At the same time, Nagito’s outfit changes as well. His clothes morph into something vaguely military in style, with heavy boots, a dark shirt and pants, a grey hooded cloak that appears burnt at the edges, a pair of gloves in the same grey as the cloak, and most notably, a gas mask that sits upon his face. It feels natural on him, as if it were his own flesh. He feels a jagged knife holstered on one hip and a revolver on the other as he effortlessly peels the gas mask off his face, summoning his Persona for combat.

“Let us take everything from them. This is our chance, Jobab!”


	3. Reveal Thyself, World Ender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May or may not have been playing a lot of Bloodborne recently and gotten a bit of inspiration from it. May or may not have also modelled my character after Goro Akechi. May or may not have also also run into a guy named Joker while trying to beat the Orphan of Kos. Hope they won, because I got pounded into the dust within the first thirty seconds.

One of the things Goro hates the most about the Metaverse is how time seems to move differently compared to in reality during combat. Fighting seems to happen in ‘turns,’ which annoyingly prevents Goro from shredding all his enemies to pieces in seconds. Given the detective’s finely-honed abilities in the Metaverse, his ‘turn’ comes first, followed by Komaeda, then the annoying shadow they’re fighting, and then it loops. When pressed on the matter, Igor didn’t give any clear answers _(as if they fucking ever did),_ so unfortunately it’s what he’s stuck with. Luckily, Goro has become an expert at making do with crappy circumstances.

Briefly returning to the topic of Komaeda, something about him right now is almost startling. The flayed skin-clothed corpse behind him, the jagged knife wielded deftly as if practiced before, the plastic lenses of the gas mask making their eyes look darker and emptier than usual… Goro’s in no place to judge, but… just how much have they been through?

Back to the combat at hand, Bless attacks seemed to do something last time, so Goro tries that again. Once more, it dissolves a small area of the shadow’s smoky exterior, opening up a weak spot. Komaeda experimentally calls forth his persona, mimicking how the brunette did it, and unleashes a skill he recognises as One-Shot Kill. Goro sees their eyes widen as Komaeda’s own life force is drained to use the skill, something Goro is sufficiently familiar with but never quite gets used to. Regardless, the attack hits the flesh of the shadow exposed by the bless attack, dealing some damage.

As it recoils from the pain, Goro takes a spare moment to analyse exactly what this shadow is supposed to be. It’s… not human, but humanoid, hunched over and ready to attack like a frenzied beast. Once again, Goro is in no place to judge. It might not even just be some unique kind of shadow, but a cognition of... something. The gaps from his last two bless attacks have mostly been covered back up with more smoke, but there’s still small holes where the hits landed. _Seems like it can’t protect itself completely._ A few more rounds and then he’ll have a chance to completely annihilate it.

It’s the enemy’s time to attack, and it swipes wildly towards Komaeda. They dodge out of the way at the last moment, but it looks more like a stumble than an intentional manoeuver. Once more, it’s Goro’s chance to go, and he decides to call out to his ally. “Komaeda, does your persona have any bless attacks?” The lucky student stares dumbfounded at Goro, turns to look in no direction in particular, then returns his gaze to Goro with a confident smirk and a nod. “Alright! Keep hitting it with that until I say otherwise. Then, we attack it with everything we have!”

The battle carries on just as the prince anticipates. Their onslaught continues to erode away the opponent’s smoky armour, and Goro is forced to use a few healing items when Komaeda fails to dodge an attack. At this point, the two of them have gotten rid of enough of its protective smoke layer for Goro to get a good idea of what it is, and it’s… absolutely not a shadow, at least not one he’s ever seen before. It almost looks like Komaeda’s persona, Jobab, with torn skin covering the majority of its body, but it actually has flesh underneath instead of just bone. In addition, its left eye seems to look like some kind of jagged lightning bolt. The whole thing would terrify a lesser man, but Goro has seen many things in his time stalking through the Metaverse.

“Alright, we’ve lowered its defenses enough! Time to **eliminate it!** ”

Goro uses Call of Chaos on himself, and at that point the battle shifts from ‘could potentially end either way’ to ‘completely one-sided.’ Only a few Leavateinns and One-Shot Kills are needed to render the thing a barely-breathing pile of flesh. Finally, after a long battle, the detective prince has a chance to breathe and gloat over his most recent casualty. However, it’s not dead yet, and Goro doesn’t have any time to react before-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-it gets crushed into a fine paste by a large chunk of debris falling from behind him. Goro turns to peer over his shoulder and notices the run-down, palace version of Hope’s Peak Academy collapsing and raining down upon the island locale. Said island is also collapsing, slowly sinking down into the sea of human souls surrounding them. Goro must not have noticed the sound of it all between his own heartbeat pulsing throughout his head and Loki’s hellish screams echoing in his ears. He turns to face his ally, Komaeda, and they look absolutely horrified. Goro probably would be too, if he was trapped in a corroding metaphor for his own mental state. It’s alright though, they just have to get back to where they entered the palace from and…

_Oh._ They entered from some random spot above the ocean. They can’t directly exit the palace until it collapses. And being inside a palace when it collapses _fucking hurts._ The brunette pops open the visor of his helmet and offers his compatriot his best attempt at a comforting smile, which is absolutely not comforting in the slightest. “I recommend you brace for impact, otherwise this might hurt a bit.” It’s going to hurt like shit no matter what, but preparing for it makes it sting a little less. Plus, the scared-but-grateful look on Komaeda’s face is... cute, somewhat, like an easily-kickable puppy. Not that Goro still feels positive emotions. Because he doesn’t. _He doesn’t. **Ever.**_

As if doing Goro a favour and ending the direction his thoughts are going in, Komaeda’s palace finally collapses, and the pair are shunted back into reality. He’s face-down in the concrete of the back alley from earlier, and as he pries himself off the floor, he notes the palace owner himself strewn backwards across a wayward trash can. He extends a helping hand towards Komaeda, which they graciously accept, and soon the pair are back on their feet.

“...So,” Komaeda starts, “Is this the part where you kill me for knowing too much?”

“Thanks for bringing that up first, because if I did, it would have seemed a bit rude. Well, Komaeda, any specific reason I _shouldn’t_ just kill you right here and now?”

“...Well, I don’t believe you particularly want to.”

_Motherfucker._ Goro pulls a switchblade from one of his pockets and angles it directly below Komaeda’s chin. “That’s a very bold claim.”

Despite their precarious situation, Komaeda has a smug look on his face. “So you don’t deny it?”

**_Motherfucker._ **

* * *

After a prolonged and agonizing pause, Akechi speaks again. “You’re right. I’ve been around you long enough to figure out just what kind of person you are, and I believe you could be valuable to me.”

_Nagito? Valuable?_ He has to know more. “How so?”

“You’ve heard about the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown incidents, yes? Those are me, operating via the Metaverse. And I’ll admit, I’ve been running into some difficulty in recent times. I believe the best course of action would be to acquire some... assistance, from a loyal ally. What do you say?”

“...So you’re behind all those incidents?”

“Indeed.”

“I thought so.”

Akechi’s voice turns sour quickly. “W-what?”

“You’re really bad at hiding your injuries. Plus, you disappear in the subway quite often.”

“...Are you on my side or do you want me to end you right here and now, fucker?”

_Ah._ Nagito almost forgot about the switchblade still pointed at his throat. “Don’t worry, I’m in. On one condition.”

“And what would that be?”

“Tell me why.”

“...What?”

“I’ve been around you long enough to figure out just what kind of person you are, Akechi, and I believe you wouldn’t assassinate and essentially lobotomise so many people for something like money or social status. What’s your goal?”

The blade at his throat inches closer for a split second, but Akechi quickly returns it to his pocket, slipping back into the guise of the detective prince with a plastic and sinister smile on his face.

“When the time comes, I’ll tell you. Until then, you’re in the dark.”

“...I can wait. We have a deal, then.”

“It would seem so.”

Akechi extends his left hand to make their deal official, and Nagito gladly does the same.

* * *

I am **thou** , thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a **new** vow.

It shall **become** the blades of conquest

That **destroyeth** thine hated foes.

With the birth of the Fortune Persona

I have obtained the accursed **strength** that

shall lead to new and incredible **power**...

  
  
  


_...What was that? What the actual fuck was that?_ Igor never mentioned anything like this. Then again, Igor never fucking mentions anything that could help Goro in any way that matters.

“...Akechi, are you alright?”

_Fuck._ “What? ...Yes, I’m fine. Just... we’ll discuss this more tomorrow. I’ll message you a time later, meet me outside the Shibuya subway station tomorrow at that time. If you aren’t there, I’ll come to your house and kill you.”

“Alright then. See you then, Akechi.” Goro swears he hears them mumble about being threatened with a good time before the lucky son of a bitch slinks off into the dark of night.

_...Nagito motherfucking Komaeda. This is going to be interesting._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on Akechi & Komaeda's Metaverse Adventures, something happens. Probably. Honestly I don't have a lot of stuff planned for next chapter so we'll see how it goes.


	4. Hee-Hope Springs Hee-ternal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's taken a little while, depression do be like that sometimes.
> 
> Fun fact: I was going to bring up some design choices for Komaeda's Metaverse outfit/Persona last chapter but completely forgot about it so we're doing it here!
> 
> -A lot of details for the outfit were either inspired or just taken from chapters 4/5 of DR2, specifically the gas mask he used while transporting the poison, the knife he used to stab himself, and the gun he played Russian Roulette with. The gray, burnt cloak was inspired by the part where the warehouse is set on fire.  
> -Somehow I completely forgot to incorporate the spear of Gungnir into his design and I will forever hate myself for this.  
> -Ko's Persona, Jobab, is based on the biblical figure Job, who was beset upon by Satan in an act permitted by God. While his money, children and own health is taken from him, he holds fast in his belief in God, and in the end is rewarded with a better life than he had before. Admittedly not very subtle but I thought the parallel was nice.  
> -I'm designing all this stuff the chapter immediately before. Please help me.

Once night arrives for Goro and he prays to whatever god there is that he might get some good sleep tonight, his wish is denied when Igor decides to grace him with a trip to the Velvet Room. Goro hasn’t been here in months, given that there’s no point besides talking to Igor, and he fucking despises talking to Igor. _Cryptic asshole._

The long-nosed son of a bitch doesn’t even bother waiting for Goro to pry himself out of his cot before beginning. “Today, you infiltrated the palace of one wreathed in envy, and witnessed them awaken to their own Persona.”

The brunette stumbles towards the bars of his cell, the chain around his ankle giving him just enough length to get there. “Indeed I did.” Being a passive-aggressive prick towards Igor is one of the few times he gets to feel like he has a one-up on them, and he intends to milk that feeling for all it’s worth.

The prison warden completely ignores it. “In addition, you and him made a deal, and he has become a powerful ally to you, a confidant.”

“...Confidant?”

“Indeed. By utilising the capabilities of those that you can convince to assist you, you will gain new abilities that shall aid you in combat. Be warned, though, relying too much on your confidants will lead only to your downfall. Take advantage of your bonds, but do not become dependent on them.”

Not like he ever intended to make friends. “I’ll try to remember it.”

“See that you do. Before you depart for reality once more, I have more information to share with you.”

“...And what would that be?”

“You and your new confidant are not the only people able to access the Metaverse. Another group has found the Metaverse Navigator app, and are using it to further their own cause.”

“Who are they?”

“That, I do not know.” _Fucking bullshit._ “You will have to figure that out through your own investigative efforts. You are the second coming of the detective prince, are you not? Return now to the waking world, remember what I have told you, and Shido will be within your grasp soon.”

Goro feels himself waking back up, and inwardly asks himself why he even bothers trying to get new information out of his warden.

* * *

A sane person would have, upon learning that their ~~only real~~ friend is an assassin using a second, alternate reality to induce insanity in people for completely unknown reasons, immediately reported them to the authorities. Or left Japan and taken up a new identity. Or at the very least turned them down on their offer to join them for absolutely nothing in compensation.

Nagito is not a particularly sane person, which is why he’s standing outside of the Shibuya subway station, waiting for Akechi to arrive. He has the app (which he now knows allows the traversal between both worlds) on his phone, but figuring out how exactly it works can come at a later date.

When Akechi arrives, Nagito can tell they’re much more tired than usual, but concealing it with the mask of the detective prince. After seeing Akechi’s true self in his palace, Nagito is starting to hate seeing that plastic smile. The manic grin they wore after figuring out how to defeat the thing from his palace is much more beautiful, anyway.

“Ah, Komaeda. There you are. Shall we head in?”

* * *

Now that he’s in Mementos, Goro takes the liberty of swapping the metaphorical mask of the detective prince for the significantly more literal mask of Shido’s favourite assassin. Sometimes, brutal honesty can be much more effective than any investigative work, such as right now, with Komaeda eyeing him over curiously. The response he decides to give is a flat “What.”

“Oh, I was just trying to get a better look at your outfit, now that I have the chance. It’s rather... entrancing.”

This is why Goro’s never tried to get anyone to help him before. “Look at yourself, Komaeda. Neither of us are dressed for a goddamn business meeting.”

“Ah, you misunderstand! I wasn’t insulting you, I just-”

“Shut it, I’d rather get this over and done with as fast as possible. Ask any remaining questions you have now, because once we descend further, there’ll be no time for idle chatter.”

“How come?”

“Within the accursed halls of this foul place stalks a shadow that even I haven’t been able to kill. It carries a pair of obnoxiously long revolvers, and only appears after I spend overly long on a single floor. If you hear chains, we move for the nearest exit.”

“Alright then. I don’t have any other pressing questions for the time being, so we can get going.”

“Follow me, and don’t lag behind. Otherwise, you’ll be an easy target for the shadows.”

Komaeda nods, and tails behind Goro as he steps onto the escalator to descend into Mementos proper.

  
  
  


~~ Don’t die on me, Nagito ~~

* * *

Mementos is a significantly more horrific sight than Akechi made it out to be. The walls seem to pulse and move, as if the entire structure is a living being. What dwells at the beating heart of this hellscape? Is it a literal beating heart? That would explain the veins.

Akechi beckons over his shoulder for Nagito to follow him, before quickly scuttling up the wall like some kind of nightmarish insect and crawling into a crack in one of the walls.

_ Jesus Christ, how **horrifying.** _

Nagito’s apparently visible apprehension is met with an annoyed glare by his compatriot, and he has no choice but to follow, so he does. It’s remarkably difficult, due to the wall moving under his grasp as he endeavours to scale it, but he reaches the crack eventually. Akechi extends a hand to pull Nagito up faster once they’re within reach.

If this place was awful to look at before, it’s even worse now. The pulsating flesh of this eldritch location pulls at the boots of his new outfit, threatening to entrap him.

“This,” Akechi begins, “Is how I manoeuver through this place. There are no shadows in here, and I can access almost the entirety of Mementos through here.”

“Almost?” Nagito responds, met immediately with a low, agitated growl.

“There are walls deep within here that only open up through increasing my reputation as the Detective Prince. Usually after the broadcast of a particularly good interview, I can access deeper areas.”

“And that’s because, since this place represents the ‘collective unconscious,’ your popularity in reality enables you to expand your influence here, right?”

A wide grin can barely be seen beneath Akechi’s helmet. “Indeed, you catch on quickly. I knew it was a good idea to recruit you. My- our first target for today should be just ahead. Keep close.”

Nagito does just that.

* * *

Bouldering is really easy when you’ve got fucking claws and the physical strength to make your own handholds in a wall made of flesh, or whatever it is that Mementos is made of. The whole thing is wretched, honestly, but he’s got no choice but to be here if he wants his plans fulfilled.

Komaeda is, for the most part, silent as they descend through Mementos’ inner walls and get closer to today’s first target. A CEO in some random bullshit fast food company, almost definitely paid for by Okumura. Goro finds some solace in the fact that he won’t have to wait for them to die of natural causes. It’ll be labelled as another seizure, or a heart attack, or whatever it is that Shido wants it to be.

He’s getting distracted, though. Focus on the murder you’re going to commit sooner rather than later. The pair (as Goro is slowly getting used to referring to them as) have reached the closest crack to the floor the CEO is on, so he jumps back into the tunnels proper with his confidant in tow.

The shadows in this area of Mementos aren’t difficult, per se, but recently, something beyond his knowledge or understanding has happened. About a month ago, every enemy in Mementos, from the Jack-o'Lantern looking shadows to the fucking Reaper became several times harder than before, making even a simple encounter mercilessly difficult.

_Fuck,_ Goro has a problem with distracting himself. Probably not helped by the presence of both Loki and Robin Hood in his head. Point is, right now, around the corner is a shadow, and fighting it is going to fucking suck unless Komaeda can pull his weight.

Trusting Komaeda’s ability to respond quickly, he lunges towards the shadow the first moment he has and slices at it once with his sword, his go-to technique for starting fights against shadows. That way, he always starts a fight with the upper hand on his opponents, and he keeps it that way until he kills them. At least, that’s how it used to go. Now he needs every boon he can get to survive, and Komaeda had better be a real fucking boon or they are going to be eliminated without remorse.

Right now, they’re relatively close to the entrance of Mementos, so the enemy that reveals itself when the many-masked monstrosity melts into the ground is a boomerang-wielding shadow that looks vaguely like an incredibly poorly-made sushi roll.

Komaeda’s only been in one fight so far, so they need to improve. Specifically, they need to win some fights on their own. Once the initial strike is made to initiate combat, Goro backsteps out of range.

“Komaeda! On our way to today’s target, you’ll be killing these things solo. Get some practice in, or you’re not going to be any use.”

They nod in response, and summon forth their Persona. This will also be a chance to properly evaluate how they perform in combat, both in terms of their skillset and fighting style. Their skeletal Persona seems to say something to the shadow he can’t quite make out, but it sounds rather menacing. Once the chant is complete, the enemy immediately seems to grow dejected and hollow, and Goro pieces it together in his mind.

_ The shadow is in **despair.** _

They managed to actively weaponize their grating speeches regarding hope and despair in the Metaverse. _Now that’s comedy._

Now that the newly-made punching bag isn’t putting up a fight, Komaeda takes a chance to practice their skills with their fancy new knife. It appears rusted, despite the fact that it came into existence literally yesterday, but the cuts they make with it seem to betray any signs of wear and tear. The white-haired boy seems almost surprised by the dexterity by which they turn the shadow into an absolute disgusting mess. Like all shadows, it bleeds a disappointing black instead of red, but it’s close enough. The thing eventually succumbs to its numerous wounds, and Komaeda turns to look at Goro expectantly.

In a constant life-or-death struggle like making your way through Mementos, he can’t afford to coddle them. “Your strength with the knife is tolerable, but next fight, you’re not using that despair skill. It’s hardly proper training if your opponent can’t fight back. Either learn to take the hits, or avoid them. You won’t be able to rely on your skills all the time, given your stamina is limited here.”

Komaeda nods and takes in the advice like it’s sage advice instead of what Goro has learnt by having the shit beaten out of him so often he’s had to improve. The pair proceed down the tunnels towards today’s mark, and Komaeda is put to the test further. A few bird- and dog-like shadows appear, and at one point the paper one appears and gives Komaeda a reminder of where they are, but his ally is slowing down at this point. Not good enough. If Komaeda is having trouble against the trash at this level, they won’t survive for a second deeper down.

“...Your solo training is over for today. You’re beginning to show signs of improvement, but not fast enough. Let’s just get this over and done with.”

Komaeda nods silently, before quickly reaching out to Goro and shouting, “Behind y-”

It’s too late, though, as Goro feels the slimy and disgusting hand of a shadow impact his back, and another fight is initiated. They’re going to be eradicated for daring to touch him.

Goro’s turn is spent trying to get himself off the ground after he got knocked down, and in the split moment he has, he thinks. Normally, he’s hyper aware of the movements of the shadows around him, occasionally being able to sense them from different flaws. How did it sneak up on him so easily? Did Komaeda distract him that much?

_ Fuck. _

Finally, as Goro is fully on his feet again and ready to turn his attacker into a fine paste, there’s a chance to see who they are. It’s one of the goddamn snowman shadows. God, how he hates the snowmen. They just don't **ever** shut up.

Komaeda takes his turn, and uses it to deliver a One-shot Kill against the ice clown, knocking it to the ground. Seeing his chance to end this pest, he lunges in for a final strike and-

**“Hold up!”** shouts Komaeda.

...

_...Fucking what? _

Goro does as they command, not out of any conscious effort to comply, but complete and utter shock. Which one of them was the experienced assassin, again?

Before he can even begin to formulate a response that accurately describes the utter audacity of commanding him around, Komaeda speaks again. “Earlier, you mentioned to me that shadows can talk, but don’t really have anything important to say, right?”

_God, fucking..._ “...Yes. What’s your goddamn point?”

“My point is, perhaps now that we’re a pair, we can threaten some more worthwhile information out of them.”

If this doesn’t work, he swears he’s going to remind them which one between them has committed multiple acts of murder. “...Fine.” Goro returns his gaze to the snowman shadow that has now turned what should be a quick stroll to his target into an absolute ordeal. “Let’s get this shit over and done with. Money, items, whatever, just give me something that won’t make me reduce you to a smoking crater.”

The snowman smiles even wider than it usually does, which Goro assumed wasn’t physically possible. “Oh, I see-hee how it is, ho! You want something from me-hee? What if I don’t have anything to give, ho?”

“Then I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Hee-how dare you talk to me like that, ho!” Despite its words, it doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the threat, just kind of... neutral. Not usually how people respond to that kind of thing. “Well, I don’t rea-hee-lly want to give you my items! What do you have to say about that, ho?”

Clearly, threatening this thing isn’t going to work. It’s too braindead to process threats. Maybe being... nice to it might work? Eventually, Goro musters up all the strength he can and responds. “It would be really nice and friendly of you to give us all of your items. _Please._ ” The words feel like acid on his tongue, it still sounded really sarcastic, and he can tell Komaeda is holding back a laugh, but...

“Alrighty-hee then! Give me-hee a second to just- Wait! I remember now! I’m not just a shadow, ho! I’m part of the sea of human souls!”

_...What. _

“I’m Jack Frost, ho! I’m you, and you’re me!”

_...No. No no no no, this is not fucking happening. It can’t be happening **again. Not again.** _

The snowman-apparently named Jack Frost-turns into a replica of his black mask before his eyes, and floats into place where his normal mask lies, before fading away. Goro remembers the feelings he had when he first awakened to Robin Hood, a manifestation of his want to become a hero. His want to be loved by everyone. He remembers how he awakened to Loki, when he realised he could never be a hero. People would never love him for who he truly is, they only want him around as long as he’s useful.

And now he has _fucking_ Jack Frost. The indescribable pain isn’t as bad as the first two times, but he still feels like he’s about to vomit. This is even worse than turning himself psychotic. He looks to Komaeda for any reprieve from the absolute pinnacle of bullshit that just happened, but is only met with what looks like genuine concern. Clearly the abject horror he’s feeling is showing quite clearly, even through his massive visor.

Just like any time he encounters hardship, he just has to fucking live with it and move on. The mask of the detective prince slips on over the mask of Jack _ffffff **f** **ucking**_ Frost, but it’s not as smooth and perfect as it usually is.

He still has a target to get to today.

* * *

Goro Akechi doesn’t speak until they leave Mementos. Akechi departs quickly after taking on the mask of that snowman, and Nagito has no choice to follow. Not like he’d dream of ditching them, but still. They find the ‘target,’ and Akechi almost single-handedly knocks them down, but they seem to fight differently compared to before. The uncertainty is clear in his strikes, and an attempt to cover it up is made with attacking more wildly than before. Nagito dares not mention it. He’s lucky Akechi didn’t kill him on the spot, let alone offer a chance to join them.

Once the shadow is rendered defenceless, Akechi uses a similar-looking power they used on themself in his palace on it, and it melts into the floor with a somewhat harrowing scream. Wordlessly, the pair heads back to the entrance, and Akechi tries to shake off whatever came over them.

“...My apologies for being so silent before. It will not happen again, I assure you.”

Is Akechi apologising to him? He was sure this conversation would go the other way around, with him taking the blame for… whatever happened. Everything's usually his fault, anyway.

“Ah, no need to apologise. Everyone has moments of weakness sometimes, even Ultimates. It’s those moments that will become stepping stones to reaching a brighter hope!”

Akechi tries to make himself appear annoyed, but a smirk plays at the edge of their mouth. As for why, Nagito couldn’t possibly guess. “If you insist. You still have a lot of training to do, but overworking you could just get you killed instead of making you stronger. I’ll contact you at a later date to schedule it.”

Komaeda allows himself to smile a bit. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The detective prince departs, leaving him alone with his thoughts for a moment before he makes his own way home.

The instant look of panic and fear that came when that snowman thing became a mask were obvious, made clearer still by Nagito’s good judge of character. He saw Akechi using two different Personas before, one of them looking much more stereotypically heroic than the other. What happened that caused them to get another Persona? On top of that, Akechi looked downright horrified when that snowman thing became another mask. Did it become a third Persona? Either way, Nagito is focused less on the powers Akechi has, and more on the clear pain they had in their eyes. His own awakening was painful, yes, but the feelings of relief and power that came at the same time rendered that more of an afterthought than anything. The detective, however, clearly experienced otherwise. Perhaps that’s due to horrible memories attached to his awakening(s)?

Nagito will get to the bottom of this eventually, he’s sure of it. ~~For Goro’s sake.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I made Goro's first new Persona obtained a fucking Jack Frost. It's my story and you can't stop me. Catch me 50 chapters from now where pancake boy talks exclusively in hee-hoisms.


End file.
